February 15, 2024
State Senator Tom O’Mara (R,C-Big Flats), Assemblyman Phil Palmesano (R,C-Corning), Assemblyman Chris Friend (R,C-Big Flats), Elmira Mayor Dan Mandell and other local leaders today rejected Governor Hochul’s cuts in critical state funding for local roads and bridges in her proposed 2024-25 state budget. At a news conference this afternoon in Big Flats, the group also called on the governor and the Democrat leaders of the state Legislature to restore the proposed cuts and keep strengthening New York’s commitment to local transportation infrastructure. O’Mara, Palmesano, and Friend are once again being joined this year by their Republican colleagues in the Senate and Assembly to highlight their opposition to Hochul’s slashing of local transportation aid, particularly a proposed $60-million cut for the Consolidated Local Street and Highway Improvement Program (CHIPS), the state’s primary source of funding for local roads, bridges, and culverts.
In a February 14, 2024 letter (see attached copy) to Hochul and legislative leaders, O’Mara, Palmesano, Friend and their colleagues wrote, in part, “We once again stress that New York State’s direct investment in local roads and bridges through CHIPS remains fundamental. It deserves priority consideration in the final allocation of state infrastructure investment in the budget for the 2024-25 fiscal year. CHIPS is the key difference for local communities, economies, governments, motorists, and taxpayers throughout the Empire State, including New York City and surrounding metro areas, and we cannot ignore this fact, especially this year. It is warranted. Local governments, for the foreseeable future, will continue to struggle to address budgetary demands in the face of the state-imposed property tax cap, rising pension, health care and highway construction costs, and unfunded state mandates, among other burdens.”
Legislators and local roads advocates statewide have been critical of Hochul’s proposal for failing to recognize the enormous impact inflation is having on the costs of construction and, consequently, on the budgets of local highway departments. Nationally, according to the Federal Highway Administration’s Highway Construction Cost Index, highway construction costs since 2022 have increased by nearly 60 percent. These unprecedented cost increases alone make the Governor’s proposal is unacceptable.
They also criticize the Hochul plan for failing to achieve the goals of equitability, fairness, and parity in transportation funding for the upstate and downstate regions of New York, noting that the Governor’s proposed budget includes a $100-million reduction (including the $60-million cut in CHIPS funding) to local road, bridge, and culvert funding for the third year of the five-year, Department of Transportation (DOT) Capital Plan.
As Hochul and the Democrat leaders of the Senate and Assembly approach negotiations over a final 2024-25 state budget scheduled to be in place by April 1, O’Mara, Palmesano, Friend and their legislative colleagues are calling for this year’s final budget to restore Hochul’s proposed $60-million cut to CHIPS base aid and then increase the CHIPS base funding level by $200 million to a total of $798.1 million.
City of Hornell Mayor John Buckley said, “Local governments have made progress in recent years receiving increases in funding related to roads and highways. However, those increases have been and continue to be eroded by inflation. Now, the Governor has proposed a $60 million dollar cut in CHIPS funding in the executive budget yet has announced a staggering $2.4 billion dollars to be sent to New York City to deal with the massive influx of migrants. If the State of New York can afford to spend billions on noncitizens, at the very least, it can surely maintain current levels of funding for repair and replacement of our roads and highways. Road and highway funding programs such as CHIPS, PAVE NY, Winter Recovery, and Pave Our Potholes should be increased annually to keep up with inflation. Cutting crucial funding streams such as these adds more pressure to local governments and is an insult to residents.”
Ann Milliken Gerould, Supervisor, Town of Elmira, said, “We appreciate and applaud the efforts of Senator O’Mara, Assemblyman Palmesano and Assemblyman Friend to encourage strong state support for CHIPS funding. This state support is absolutely critical to the ability of our local highway departments to adequately maintain and revitalize the local roads and bridges our communities depend on. A cut in funding like what is being proposed would be extremely difficult for localities to absorb and poses a real risk to the quality of local transportation infrastructure.”
Kelly Fitzpatrick, Chair of the Steuben County Legislature, said, “CHIPS funding represents New York’s commitment to infrastructure for the common person. Our road and system is extensive and is well main-maintained – thanks to the extra funding from New York. The Governor’s Executive Budget proposal would be devasting to Steuben County because we rank third for the amount of miles and have the most bridges of any County. Cutting this funding is like a slap in the face to the common taxpayer who goes to work every day and relies upon the road system for his/her every day life.”